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fabulous - 4 dictionary results

fab⋅u⋅lous

  [fab-yuh-luhs]
Use fabulous in a Sentence
–adjective
1. almost impossible to believe; incredible.
2. Informal. exceptionally good or unusual; marvelous; superb: a fabulous bargain; a fabulous new house.
3. told about in fables; purely imaginary: the fabulous exploits of Hercules.
4. known about only through myths or legends.
Origin:
1540–50; < L fābulōsus, equiv. to fābul(a) fable + -ōsus -ous

Related forms:
fab⋅u⋅lous⋅ly, adverb
fab⋅u⋅lous⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
3. fabled, fictitious, invented, fictional.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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fab·u·lous   (fāb'yə-ləs)   
adj.  
  1. Barely credible; astonishing: the fabulous endurance of a marathon runner.
  2. Extremely pleasing or successful: a fabulous vacation.
    1. Of the nature of a fable or myth; legendary.
    2. Told of or celebrated in fables or legends.

[Middle English, mythical, from Old French fabuleux, from Latin fābulōsus, from fābula, fable; see fable.]
fab'u·lous·ly adv., fab'u·lous·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Fabulous

Fab"u*lous\ (f[a^]b"[-u]*l[u^]s), a. [L. fabulosus; cf. F. fabuleux. See Fable.]

1. Feigned, as a story or fable; related in fable; devised; invented; not real; fictitious; as, a fabulous description; a fabulous hero.

The fabulous birth of Minerva. --Chesterfield.

2. Passing belief; exceedingly great; as, a fabulous price. --Macaulay.

Fabulous age, that period in the history of a nation of which the only accounts are myths and unverified legends; as, the fabulous age of Greece and Rome. -- Fab"u*lous*ly, adv. -- Fab"u*lous*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : fabulous
Spanish: fabuloso,
German: fabelhaft,
Japanese: すばらしい
More Translations »

fabulous 
1546, from L. fabulosus "celebrated in fable," from fabula (see fable). From "mythical," sense of "incredible" first recorded 1609. Slang shortening fab first recorded 1957; popularized in reference to The Beatles, c.1963.
"Fabulous (often contracted to fab(s)) and fantastic are also in that long list of words which boys and girls use for a time to express high commendation and then get tired of, such as, to go no farther back than the present century, topping, spiffing, ripping, wizard, super, posh, smashing." [Fowler, 1965]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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